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Japanese Anime Industry In Danger Of Fragmentation

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the you're-breaking-up dept.

ChibiOne writes "The Asahi Shinbun has a story about the critical state that the Japanese animation industry currently faces, claiming: 'As merchandisers grow rich, the animation industry is losing jobs to cheaper labor abroad.' The article quotes Oh Production President Koichi Murata as saying: 'Unless something is done, Japanese anime will be ruined.' An animator, toiling away on cels in a tiny Tokyo studio, might be fortunate to pull in just 50,000 yen [about $500 USD] a month."

4 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. No surprise there. by OwP_Fabricated · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Anyone notice that a lot of the AMERICAN cartoons we like (Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, Clerks, and I believe Invader Zim) are all animated primarily by Korean animation farms? Also, I will take this opportunity to interject my worthless 2 cents about current anime: It sucks. I haven't seen a decent anime made after 1998.

    1. Re:No surprise there. by FromageTheDog · · Score: 5, Interesting
      This is because, quite frankly, you must be making valiant efforts to ignore recent releases.

      A short list of currently running (or recently concluded) anime series which are of excellent caliber:
      • Macross Zero
      • Yukikaze
      • Gilgamesh
      • One Piece
      • Full Metal Alchemist
      • PLANETES
      • Monster

      I could go on and on. But anyway -- what I'm more concerned about:

      I'm a big fan of anime licensing, as it allows me to obtain high-quality DVDs of said anime, but that sentiment is dependent on the assumption that these animators toiling away benefit from this indulgence on my part... It would be nice if the article had gone into some more detail, such as:

      How do the really successful studios do? I'm thinking of places like Production IG, Studio Ghibli, Bones, etc. Are my hard-earned dollars reaching these guys, or is it getting absorbed somewhere along the way by the equivalent of the RIAA? That's a rather disheartening thought... As it is, I'm not sure what to think of the article since it's written based on the perspective of a small outfit, and the world being as it is, small outfits tend to get stepped on regardless of the industry...

      - Fromage
  2. Animation field by dammitallgoodnamesgo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It's worth pointing out that the people interviewed in the article who are complaining about the death of anime, are employed by production houses who work on the very family-friendly anime - and with specific reference to "Chibi Maruko-chan" there was a well-known legal case from the voice-actors last year, as they weren't being paid residuals. I suspect that the situation is rather different for companies which make otaku-friendly anime - and I [i]KNOW[/i] it's different for companies who work with NHK. Actually, it's the otaku-friendly anime, and bishoujo anime specifically, which is powering Japan's anime boom.

  3. Re:Saw on Japanese TV by identity0 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I may be biased 'cause I'm originally from Japan... but does it really suprise you that Japanese kids do anime drawings better than other nation's kids?

    I remember when I was in Japan, the kids drew their favorite characters from anime all the time, and the constant drawing was probobly good practice. One kid in 5th grade or so made a good drawing of one the guys from Dragonball, and the other kids were making fun of him for having traced it instead of drawing it, as if he was expected to draw that well without tracing.

    It's kinda like the association of Americans with rock n' roll, or black people with rap. Race does not confer talent, but being immersed in a culture does help shape your talents.